Monster Tuna spotted at H Mart & wonderful variety of Sashimi at Nijiya Japanese Store, Hartsdale NY

“It’s Moby Dick!”  my co-blogger, told me on sight of this pic of the monster Tuna I’d just found in my local Asian Supermarket.

Several   hours of shopping, slicing, stirring and rolling later,  Moby had proven the inspiration for my family’s home made Sushi dinner.

I’ve made Sushi for the last few years and here’s the basic recipe I use, in pictorial form.

Rice and Seasoning

Ingredients and prep of Sushi Rice

For 4 , use 4 cups of sushi rice, 8 desert spoons of rice vinegar, 4 desert spoons of sugar and 1/2 desert spoon of salt.  Wash the rice,  pop it in a rice cooker cover with water and cook. Seasoning is simple. Add the vinegar, salt and sugar to a saucepan, warm till it dissolves and allow to cool slightly. Add the seasoning to the cooked rice. Hey presto? Perfect sushi rice.

Now, slice your fish.  For Nigiri, across the grain with a  sharp Yanagiba knife works for me. Use the same knife to slice the Nori Seaweed sheets to 2/3 of original size horizontally.

Maki

The stages of creating Spicy Tuna Inside Out Maki

Spicy Tuna, use minced tuna, Japanese Mayo, a hot pepper sauce and green onions.  Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Follow the steps in the pictures to the right (clockwise from top right corner), using a wooden rolling sheet to form the rolls.

The stages of making Salmon Avocado Maki

Salmon Avocado Maki. Use the same technique but now add  Salmon + Avocado strips  before rolling the Maki.  Sesame seeds dusted on the outside add crunch and flavor.

Nigiri

Easy to make / easy to eat. Roll the rice in a ball in ones palm, add a dab of wasabe,  place the fish slice on top and ta da!

The steps clockwise from hand rolling to assemble Nigiri with Bream, Shiso Leaf and Plum Sauce,

My favorite one adds Shiso Leaf under the Tai (Bream) fish with plum sauce to decorate and add a certain zingy sweetness.

Good Luck & Enjoy. My family certainly did. They polished off the lot in 25 minutes!

To end, because I couldn’t resist, Maguro Tuna Nigiri & Japanese Soda in Manga-tastic colors!